How can I calculate whether curtain airbags are worth it?

Question

Have there been any sites that have done risk assesment on this? I am really considering getting a car with side curtain airbags. They just really seem to make sense. I was just wondering if there is a way to calculate the risk of me getting into a side impact collision based on my driving record (1 speeding ticket 8 over in the last year no fault accidents) and the amount I will drive per year (~6000 miles) and my location (San Diego). I know this is a very specific question, but a head injury could have very long term expensive implications.

Anyways I don't really want to pay for a newer car, but it is the only way for me to get curtain airbags, and I just want to calculate if it is worth the money to minimize the risk of head injury.

I realize that safety is very important, but everybody has to realize that money/safety tradeoffs are made every day. Drinking water for a million dollars a gallon could be essentially pure, but it isn't a wise investment. It would be better to put that money into keeping other areas of your life safer. Saying safety has no price is BS. I am not looking for just general statements I was hoping for an actual risk calculation.

Answer 1

Go rent a newer car with side airbags an get into a t-bone accident. If you live to talk about it, that will answer your question.

Answer 2

Kingbiscuit, the question is... How much is your life worth? I'm sorry for putting that as bluntly as I can, its just that you ought to be worried others' driving habits more than you should worry about yours. Think about this: The only way you can deploy your side airbags thru your own fault would be to slide the car in a 90-degree angle and slam it onto a post, a concrete wall, or another vehicle. Virtually all the time, it will be because of the other guy why you made good use of your side curtain airbags.

Bottom line: Even if you take a conscious effort to drive real safe, there will always be others who won't. Besides, it's always good to have a flashlight when power goes out, right?

Answer 3

Check with IIHS, NHTSA or the DOT for accident statistics and look up the head injuries or deaths.

Then figure the number of person-miles driven per year.
That gives you the probability of getting into a head-trauma accident. You might be able to even calculate the statistics for California, but I doubt you could narrow it down to San Diego county or city.

I don't think your driving skills or tickets will make a difference - it's the other guy that blows thru a red light into your car that causes most head injuries. The only way to prevent that is to have extraordinary situational awareness when crossing every intersection, and to have X-ray vision and be able to see around corners.

But the financial side is harder to estimate. What is the economic value of head injury - a concussion, permanent disability, paralysis or even a death? Hundreds of thousands? A million? A couple million? Ten million? What is the loss of the quality of person's life really worth? Only you can answer that question and your number is as good as anyone's.

It seems that you can either just go out and get a car with curtain airbags or wear a DOT approved racing helmet if you want to be totally safe.

Answer 4

Curtain airbags are worth it, and insurance companies give you discounts if you have these in your car. Some come standard, some you have to buy as an option.

You never know what,when, or how you'll have an accident. The purpose of airbags are to minimize severity of injuries and death.

Sometimes though, even an airbag won't help. If it's your time to go, it's your time to go.

Answer 5

How much life insurance do you have? How much do you love your wife/husband/children? If you are getting another car, and side airbags are an option, get them.

I did all the research on which car would be the safest and most practical for my wife and daughter to drive every day. It turns out that we could buy a Mercedes ML320 used for less than a new Honda CR-V with all the safety options. Now my wife is driving a Benz, and I don't have to worry about what all the other idiots on the road are doing.

You may be a good driver, but I travel to San Diego frequently. It's everyone else you have to watch out for.

Answer 6

Anything that offers protection, such as seatbelts, air bags and curtains and safety glass is a good thing. Just remember that none of these things will prevent you from being involved in a collision or keep you from being hurt. The crash speeds that vehicles are tested at are between 35 and 37 mph and against an opposing vehicle of the same weight. We are being lied to when we are told that a vehicle is safe. The only time any vehicle is safe is when the vehicle is unoccupied and the engine is turned off - and that's about 95 pct of the time. It comes down to the skill and awareness of each driver doing the right thing that will increase survivability on the road.

Answer 7

Look at it this way:

"Vehicle safety technologies saved an estimated 328,551 lives from 1960 through 2002."

328,551 lives saved by vehicle safety devices in 42 years. There are over 300 million people alive today. Tens of millions more have lived during this time frame. That means that even if these technologies had saved that many lives of just the current living population, they would have saved a fraction of a percent.

The odds of you being in assisted by any type of vehicle safety device are almost nil, so speaking in terms of odds, it makes no sense to buy a different vehilce solely for the purpose of obtaining side curtain airbags.

Of course, if you are highly risk averse and anxious about safety and it will ease your mind, buy one if you can afford it!

Answer 8

Get the side curtains! A friend's 18 year old son and his girlfriend were killed on New Year's Eve from a side impact. Don't even try to calculate the risk factor, doesn't matter, you'll never come up with a true answer since a drunk driver may, in fact, be a part of the equation.

Answer 9

Get real! No one can tell your future or fate. If you want to spend the money to protect yourself better,just in-case, then do it. People die every day in car accidents because they don't have air bags. People die every day even if they do have air bags. I can give you a calculated possibility if your going to get a accident,how many drivers in your state and how many accidents. If I said one in a million and you never do, I am right! If you do get in an accident I am right also. Lets say you get in a bad accident, it does not mean the bag will save you, there is a chance it may hurt you in some way. Every accident is different things happen. If you get a car with air bags, think of the extra cost, insurance, repairs if needed, Better chance of the car being totaled out if you do get in an accident because of the cost of repairs. If someone hits you do they have insurance, or a way to pay you. To many factors to figure in. Bottom line, what you looking for,chances are yes your safer if you have bags, is it worth it $ wise, your call.

Answer 10

Yes they are worth it. I use to work in a collision shop and the legs/feet area and left side/head area is where the bad stuff happens mostly.I would get them in a heart beat! It has nothing to do with how good a driver you are.Watch an episode of cops and watch what happens when the guy trying to get away t-bones a car at 60 mph.